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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

I have no idea why, though it might be the fact that I moved house, but it seems Zorro has decided it's time for mating season. He's not full in it yet, but the early signs are already there:Less relaxed More aggression towards meEating less Trying to bite into anything that movesA lot of jumping to the glass when he sees his reflection (not so much snout banging. Yet!)As usual, it came over night and I'm rather upset about it, because I wanted to avoid him going into mating season at all costs. Trying a hormone implant for the first time. That seems a little bit too late now. We had planned March/April as he normally went into season in May.All I'm hoping for is, that he'll not get as mad as he was the past two years, so he'll not hurt himself.

On the other hand, as you can see from the picture above, he's in good health and a proper dinosaur. Big and beautiful, a little cheeky and definitely impressive.I can still touch him and give his cheeks a good massage, but it'll be a matter of time when he turns into the lethal animal he becomes for the next few months. I can honestly say that I'm not looking forward to it and all I hope for is that he'll be fine and as calm as possible.

Wish me luck that I don't need to see the vet surgery this year. I'd be utterly happy if I don't.

I know I posted this before, but I will not tire of warning people off those animals:

Iguanas can become 25 if kept well and they become big, too. Zorro is 6.5 and almost 5 feet, 6kgMales in particular can become very aggressive towards female owners. Even if you had them since a baby and they are tame. As soon as they reach maturity, they can turn. Zorro was tame before and turned from one day to another.They need a good and healthy diet, it's not as easy as opening a tin for a cat. They are animals with special requirements. One should be certain they can commit to care for such a pet.They have razor sharp teeth and a fully grown iguana can easily bite off your finger when attacking

BEFORE you decide to take on an iguana, do your research and think long and hard. No point getting one when you will give the animal away because it's getting too big or aggressive. If you are sure you can commit, think about rescuing one, there are plenty of abandoned adult iguanas in need of a loving home.

If you have questions or are uncertain, please contact me. You'll find my e-mail address under 'about me'.

Do not get an iguana because they are cool or cute! They are living animals and need an owner to have good knowledge and understanding of those fascinating creatures.

Monday, February 27, 2012

I recently asked on a readers' forum about their take on author websites/blogs, if they feel inclined to visit an author's site or not, what they expect from it and what puts them off.The answers were mixed: most would visit a website if they liked a book and wanted to find out about other works, updates on upcoming novels, etc.Personally, I remember to have looked at Cecilia Ahern's site as well as Stephenie Meyer's and hung on every word as to how they started to write, what inspired them and their feelings about writing in general. I read with interest/disgust about Stephenie Meyer's negative experiences with trusting the wrong people, who then went ahead and posted a huge excerpt of her work in progress, Midnight Sun, Edward's point of view, which, by the way, I find so much better than Twilight itself.

Now, of course, someone like Cecilia Ahern doesn't have to go out and promote her novels, she's one lucky woman who is published with the big six and has her books made into films. For those of you, who don't know her, she's the author behind the film PS. I love you. Her website serves one purpose: give readers information about her works, what she is working on at the moment, what will be out soon. I noticed the website has FAQs and a forum, meaning it became more interactive. Fans will be able to talk to her -- whether it's really her who answers or some poor intern at Harper Collins remains a secret, but fact is, that people come to her.

Most Indie authors don't have that privilege, they are nobody in the world of publishing, they don't have a big marketing budget and their marketing will mostly circle around other Indies, which is a bit of a problem. Indies have it twice as difficult; they compete against each other trying to reach readers and are therefore constantly in readers' faces, which often backfires. They are forced to let their writing speak for itself, but how to get your writing noticed so it can touch a reader's soul? How to make a blog/website interesting for a reader? If you're an Indie with two books, there's hardly much to say and the website will most probably not be updated for a long time. A blog about writing will probably attract more writers than readers, because readers don't care about the struggles an author has; they want to read and enjoy the ready product, and rightly so.

Not too long ago, I ranted about the 'like' my page attitute Indies have and I'm still sticking with it, because it's fake. I don't want anyone to visit my facebook page because we made a 'deal'. I wish for readers who enjoyed my books popping by to find out about updates. Not because they're forced to, but because they genuinly like my work. I think this can only be achieved if authors did more writing and less promoting, they'll have a bigger chance (if the quality is up to scratch) to be discovered by readers and recommended by word of mouth, which will lead to success and therefore to visiting 'fans'.